For my brand identity class, I had to do a logo for a local bakery.
The first one is what I started with. The bottom is where I am now

The problem I'm having: I need to show lines or shapes indicating grooves in the icing bag because right now it's not reading an "icing bag" & a crown, more so a carrot and a crown. All of the options I've explored thus far don't flow with the overall shape. Because of this not being resolved, I haven't been able to really explore the type portion so don't mind the type.

How can I make this logo look more obviously like an icing bag and crown?

Is it totally impossible to have the business name as the output of the icing bag? There are plenty of rich enough script fonts for it. Have the bag a little tilted and connected to the last frill.
– user287001Jun 7 '18 at 18:12

@user287001 Mixing type like that sounds bad. Plus the type should be the ** the last thing** that should be considered when the form itself isn't nailed down. Ignore color > nail down form > experiment with type > compromise form > final solution
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 18:24

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@BrianaSmith the top 2 are the best options. Explore from there. Also, not sure what vector you cut apart to make this but the bottom is pretty off. imgur.com/a/ILeWw6t
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 18:35

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I like your original in bold. Simplifying a design does not always add.
– WilltechJun 9 '18 at 1:25

These are brilliant designs--but be aware that there are a lot of cake-eaters (and cake-buyers) that don't know, or care, how a cake is made, and wouldn't recognize an icing bag if we saw one in the baker's hands!
– CCTOJun 8 '18 at 15:48

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@CCTO That's a really good point, and a common mistake of designing a logo that is meaningful to the business owners. Design it to be meaningful to the customers.
– HarperJun 9 '18 at 0:15

Just to address the icon part of this, building on existing answers and adding a few things. I think the devil is in the details here. Quick blown-up sketch (n.b. the ratio of tip/bag is currently not ideal to represent a piping bag but not too bad for a logo which would have to be legible at small sizes):

You want to keep the small details that make the piping bag not look like a carrot. Working from bottom to top:

Build a metallic reflection on the tip and remove the horizontal lines which are often seen on cartoonish or schematized carrots

Keep the little bulge you already had on your first two proposals

Give the bag a lumpier shape and add some lines to show dimension

Adding a knot or twist or something that suggests a grip (without adding a full size hand) also distances this from being a carrot

Consistency requires we would also had some lines in the crown (which would not appear in a carrot's leaves but would in a bag)

Removing a few tips from the crown can also make your design relate more to a bag and less like carrot leaves. Making the points not too stiff also drives the connection to reading "bag"

Consider your choice of color (I'm not sure if you've mentioned the # of inks you can use for this): keep away from anything orangey looking for the bottom of the design and stick to something golden/silver-ish for the top. That color could easily be repeated on the metallic tip to give a better unity to your design.

Consider building metallic reflections on some parts of the crown if fitting.

I did not address the type component but I think you had a good lead in your first proposals of using the bag to put the dot on the i of Elite (as opposed to piping out the whole brand name which becomes complicated and removes a bit of the glamour you are aiming for). Conveniently, the "i" is right in the middle of the word so you could definitely implement this all the while keeping the symmetry of your design. Keeping the same really straight font you are using in the bottom proposals but adding a dab of icing as a dot would offer some contrast and create more meaning.

Your main issues are the angles you picked for the crown and the shape of the bag.

I get you want to use nice lines but you are making the mistake of trying to make an organically shaped object geometrically rigid.

If you make the bag more "lumpy" and have more curves this will help break up the harsh angles and lines. I've also added some "cut-outs" that mimic the scrunched top of the bag when it's full and twisted closed.

Second I would make the crown more proportional to the rest of the bag. You have a VERY large and extending footprint which throws off the balance of the rest of the bag. Making it narrower and more "crown-like" will help immensely.

Something like this is a good start.

Here's a final "concept" to further illustrate my point.

Second iteration showing how you could emphasize the crown and altering the proportions.

I think you need to refine your shape and then reassess the feel of the branding first. You seem to have conflicting ideas on your direction. Ignore the color altogether, start in black and white and get your shapes down first, THEN you can start playing around with color.

Sorry - I just added the same thing to my own answer - it was actually an independent thought, though it does heavily echo yours.
– TetsujinJun 7 '18 at 18:07

@Tetsujin No worries, it's the most logical step to take to mimic the bag.
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 18:21

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Hmm. I instantly recognized the ones in the question as piping bags but I'm not sure I recognize yours. :-( (Though, of course, your main point is the technique, rather than the result.)
– David RicherbyJun 8 '18 at 15:34

@DavidRicherby Exactly, I'm not here to give the final result just guide in the processes.
– OvaryraptorJun 8 '18 at 15:50

First thing is that looks like a 3D printer's extruder, secondly the 45° just introduces a lot of disproportional negative space. Altering the angles and proportions are the way to solve this, not introducing more visual variables.
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 17:51

The crown isn't the issue as she stated. The bag doesn't look like a piping bag.
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 17:37

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Actually, the crown makes the carrot top; that's where psychology takes over. Remove the crown, it looks nothing like a carrot. tbh, it looks like an amphora whichever way you do it ;)
– TetsujinJun 7 '18 at 17:41

I have to implement a crown in to show "Elite"/ I already told my professor the icing bag and the crown are the two objects I'd merge with one another. For that double read effect I placed them the way I did.... I just need to figure out how to make the bag look like an icing bag :,(
– Briana SmithJun 7 '18 at 17:48

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@BrianaSmith I'd stay away with browns. Also, I'm not sold on thinking elite when you have this salmon color.
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 18:18

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@BrianaSmith Design in black and white then work on color. Based on their shop I'd try some pastel blues/teals. But design first color last.
– OvaryraptorJun 7 '18 at 18:25

It's not reading "icing bag" because there's no hand squeezing it. Include a hand (and maybe a wrist, or at least some fingers) squeezing the bag, and people will get it. I'd drop the crown; it just makes the bag too big (it's too big even without the crown).

I think the darker border and lighter fill that were on the initial designs really helped sell the idea that these were transparent bags with something inside, rather than opaque, solid objects. Perhaps reintroducing the border, with or without the fill, would help. If you do end up doing that, you should keep the crown solid for contrast; I think it would probably also be best to keep it closer to the border color rather than the fill color, but that would probably be subject to how it looks when implemented.

The problem here is trying to make the crown work visually with the icing bag, when you would never see a crown where you a putting it. So not only are you fighting the visual simplification of the elements, the stylization, you are also fighting logic.

The crown is a requirement but does it have to be part of the icing bag? If it were me, I would have the icing bag drawing the crown which the Elite type is wearing. That shows the Elite company is king (not the bag) which is on brand and it eliminates the problem of integrating two otherwise unrelated objects.